Chapter 145: The Hero (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 145: The Hero (5)
Jeong Yeon-woo has been caught!
The news spread instantly through every media outlet. Reporters scrambled to the police station where Jeong Yeon-woo was being held, desperate to be the first on the scene.
The front of the station was pure chaos. Groups demanding his release gathered in droves, while internet wreckers, who lived for clout, swarmed the area with cameras at the ready.
Police officers blocking the entrance shouted that no one was allowed inside, while reporters screamed for access and protesters chanted slogans to free Jeong Yeon-woo. The congestion was so severe that even vehicles couldn't pass through the vicinity.
In contrast to the madness outside, the interior of the police station was eerily quiet.
Aside from the distant echoes of the shouting crowd, everyone watched Jeong Yeon-woo in the interrogation room in silence.
Yoon A-young and Kwon Ye-jin, members of Black Unicorn, remained by his side under the authority of the arresting officers. In reality, they were there to protect him, ensuring no one could harm him while he was in handcuffs.
However, this was a bad move.
The difference between turning oneself in and being forcibly arrested was as vast as the distance between heaven and earth. The fact that they were going to such lengths to protect him even after making such a blunder suggested that his life was in grave danger.
‘Or perhaps they’re confident they can prove his innocence...’
Oh Eun-yul leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, glancing at Yoon A-young and Kwon Ye-jin before taking a seat across from Jeong Yeon-woo, who sat calmly in his chair.
Beyond the one-way mirror, dozens of people had gathered, including high-ranking police officials and the special task force.
Though they were hidden by the glass, Oh Eun-yul could feel their eyes on her as she began the interrogation.
"You finally kept our date."
"I'm sorry. I've been so busy lately that I'm late. You must be very angry."
"Not at all. I'm just happy that you're here, Mr. Jeong Yeon-woo."
The conversation began with an atmosphere far removed from a typical criminal interrogation.
Jeong Yeon-woo answered Oh Eun-yul's questions sincerely, recounting his recent activities. His four-day flight was a story worthy of a movie.
Escaping from kidnappers, taking down criminal organizations involved in the incident, and closing in on the truth—it was the stuff of a Hollywood blockbuster.
It was an unbelievable tale, but Oh Eun-yul, who had been tracking his movements, had no choice but to believe it.
She was the one who had picked up the "presents" he had gift-wrapped and thrown into jail cells. There was no falsehood in the trail Jeong Yeon-woo described.
Jeong Yeon-woo hadn't executed the criminals himself. He had reported every single one of them to the police for arrest, providing proof of his actions.
At first, Oh Eun-yul thought he was simply being a law-abiding citizen, but now she realized why he had kept handing them over to the police.
Jeong Yeon-woo had been creating a record of all his actions. Since there was an official police record, he didn't even need to prove what he was saying.
The only problem was whether the people he caught were truly related to this case.
For some, there was no definitive evidence linking them to the frame-up against Jeong Yeon-woo. Not everything was documented, and testimony obtained through intimidation wouldn't be admissible as evidence.
This point would work against him.
While chasing Jeong Yeon-woo and collecting his "presents," Oh Eun-yul had realized that too many people were involved in this. It ranged from a simple talent agency to clans, and even within the police force itself.
The fact that a high-ranking official had gone so far as to suspend his Hero qualification to catch him meant that someone at the top had a guilty conscience.
Even if everything was done by the book, if there was even a single flaw, they would surely sink their teeth into it.
Before the interrogation could even finish, the door swung open and a high-ranking official walked in.
"Everyone else, please leave. I wish to speak with Jeong Yeon-woo alone."
"We are still in the middle of an interrogation."
"I'll go first. It won't take long, so would you mind stepping out for a moment?"
As the official spoke, he turned off the microphone on the table. Oh Eun-yul glanced toward the mirror.
The situation reeked of corruption, but since he outranked her, she couldn't refuse.
As she hid her expression and stood up to leave, the official turned to Yoon A-young and Kwon Ye-jin.
"Would you two mind stepping out as well?"
"I don't want to."
"... ..."
The official stared blankly, as if he had misheard.
However, Yoon A-young and Kwon Ye-jin simply stood there with their arms crossed, showing no intention of moving.
"This is police jurisdiction. Outsiders should not interfere."
"We haven't officially handed Jeong Yeon-woo over to the police yet. We are merely cooperating right now; the outsider here is you."
When Yoon A-young calmly countered him, the official scowled and looked at Oh Eun-yul.
"Yes, Square Garden still has custody of him."
"Does that even make sense? Why aren't you following procedure?"
"We sent the paperwork to Square Garden, but we haven't heard back yet."
The police and the Association were separate entities. When large organizations collaborated, bureaucratic procedures were required, and there were specific steps for transferring a criminal.
However, those were usually just formalities; normally, there was no need to go through tedious administrative hurdles.
It was a waste of manpower for a clan to hold a criminal, so once a Hero arrested someone and handed them over to the police, the annoying paperwork was handled later.
Technically, during that gap, the clan is still considered to be the one holding the suspect.
"You must be too young to understand how things are usually don—"
"I know how they're done, so there's no need to explain."
As Yoon A-young cut him off, the official's face turned a deep shade of red, clearly fuming with rage.
"If our cooperation isn't needed, we will take Jeong Yeon-woo and return to the clan."
"That's preposterous! Jeong Yeon-woo has been arrested and is right here! He was arrested by our police force!"
"No, he was arrested by Black Unicorn—by Square Garden. If we aren't needed, shall we take Jeong Yeon-woo and leave now? We have plenty of our own investigating to do."
When Yoon A-young spoke with a cold gaze, the official flinched.
There were hundreds of people gathered outside right now. If Jeong Yeon-woo were to just walk out on his own? Not only would the police's honor be trashed, but he had no idea what kind of backlash he would face as the one who caused this mess.
"Fine. I apologize. I'm sorry, but could you please step aside so we can talk privately for a moment?"
"No. Don't mind us; if you have something to say, say it."
At Yoon A-young's words, the official took a deep breath, suppressing his anger.
His trembling fists looked ready to strike at any moment, but he gritted his teeth, held back, and turned around.
"Protecting a criminal just because he's family... Square Garden is nothing but a pack of thugs."
The official grumbled as he left, but Yoon A-young and Kwon Ye-jin didn't even pay him any mind.
Irritated by their indifference, the official stopped and shouted loudly.
"I'm going to contact Square Garden directly! Let's see what Clan Leader Lee Ru-da has to say about this!"
He spoke while looking back, but the two didn't even make eye contact.
Once the huffing official had departed, Oh Eun-yul, who had been prepared to leave, closed the door and sat back down awkwardly.
The strange situation where a detective apologized to the person being interrogated concluded, and the day's questioning came to an end.
Yoon A-young and Kwon Ye-jin never left Jeong Yeon-woo's side while he was behind bars.
Even when going to the bathroom, they took turns so that at least one person always remained. The next day, they swapped shifts with Lee Yu-na and Anna, ensuring someone was always guarding him.
No matter how much pressure the police applied, Square Garden remained silent and refused to hand Jeong Yeon-woo over.
Articles began appearing in the media targeting Square Garden's interference, and the entire nation of South Korea was abuzz over this one man, Jeong Yeon-woo.
Oh Eun-yul could understand their feelings for him, but she couldn't fathom what they were thinking; acting this stubbornly would only make things worse for him.
"Detective, look at this."
An officer rushed in, took over her computer without permission, minimized the document she was working on, and opened the internet.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"The deposition isn't the problem right now. Look at this."
Despite Oh Eun-yul's scowl, the officer went to a video-sharing platform and played a video.
It was a long video, over an hour in length, but Oh Eun-yul could only watch it in a daze.
Meanwhile, Lee Yu-na held up her smartphone and showed the video Oh Eun-yul was watching to Jeong Yeon-woo inside the cell.
It's finally up.
In the video, I was looking into the camera and giving an interview.
"It's a bit embarrassing seeing myself on film."
"Why? You look great, Yeon-woo."
"But why is it over an hour long?"
"Uh... it seems the editor got a bit too excited. They said this needs to be shown in theaters and stayed up all night editing it."
I only asked for a short ten-minute video; what on earth did they put in there?
"There's a shorter version with just the highlights, too," Lee Yu-na said, showing me another video.
We huddled together near the bars and watched the hour-long video.
It was a detailed chronicle of everything from the moment I got the equipment from Park Su-jin until I arrived at the police station.
The editor had clearly put a lot of effort into it, making it look like a professional movie. When I took down the Hongjeong Sect, they even kept the action scenes intact, making Anna giggle and clap her hands.
The video showed me neutralizing the Awakened and revealing documents taken from a safe, before the screen transitioned to CCTV footage.
It vividly showed the police arriving after a report, collecting evidence, and a short-haired detective secretly pocketing some documents.
The camera zoomed in on the detective's face, and a graphic popped up displaying his personal information. Then, it showed the evidence officially announced by the police, followed by a summary and photos of the documents the detective had taken.
After information related to Dongmyeong Materials appeared, the scene where I caught Na Eun-jae played.
Of course, the "off the record" parts weren't included in the video. Scenes of me threatening her or explaining how to dispose of a body were nowhere to be found. I hadn't given the editor any footage that shouldn't be made public in the first place.
"Seeing it from your first-person perspective makes it so thrilling, Yeon-woo. It really could be shown in a theater."
Lee Yu-na giggled softly, clearly enjoying it.
Then, the high-ranking official who had suspended me appeared on screen at a press conference.
The video cross-cut between the official claiming I was only catching petty criminals unrelated to the Hongjeong Sect and the evidence I had actually obtained.
His speech at the conference played like a narration over scenes of me capturing criminals.
Interspersed were interview clips of several people, including Park Cheong-woo. It felt like a typical Hollywood blockbuster where the protagonist slowly gathers clues to uncover the truth, but the fact that it was real gave it an incredible sense of realism.
The climax was the rescue of Anna Gyeom.
A launcher appeared at the bottom of the first-person screen, firing tear gas and blocking a bodyguard who was trying to swing a sword. Soon, the screen was filled with smoke, and only audio could be heard.
The scene transitioned to me tying up the fallen bodyguards, and the screen split to show their faces and affiliations in detail.
But out of all that information, the one thing people needed to see was the name 'Hanseong Group.'
The name Hanseong Group, engraved in red letters, was zoomed in on, and then the screen changed to Anna Gyeom looking at the camera and telling the truth.
After calmly recounting what she had gone through and Hanseong Group's private request, Anna Gyeom bowed her head and apologized to everyone.
The screen went black, and a cloud link containing all the data appeared. Reporters would likely dive into it immediately to get the materials.
And then, the ending credits began to roll.
Huh? They even made ending credits?
I had asked for help because I can't edit video, but they really made a whole movie. Isn't it a bit much to list my name as the director, cinematographer, and lead actor?
Finally, the video ended with the message: 'Everything in this video is real.'
Lee Yu-na and Anna clapped, marveling at how fun it was.
Anna mimicked firing a gun—pew, pew—while rewatching my fight scenes, and Lee Yu-na praised my tactics as excellent.
The building had been noisy since halfway through the video.
It was a cacophony of shouting, people cursing, others making frantic calls, and superiors yelling at subordinates to check the video immediately.
It seems everyone enjoyed the show.
I hope Han Byeong-sin likes it.
Attacking through the mainstream media? How old-fashioned. This is the age of the internet.
I've done plenty of media manipulation in countries with unstable governments; you're not the only one who knows how to use that tactic.
Since I've given you the media war you love so much, feel free to try and explain your way out of this.